362 



MOTACILLID.E. 



lA'SESSORES. 



DENTIROSTRES. 



MOTACILLWM. 



THE PIED WAGTAIL. 



tail, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. i. p. 489. 

 , Mont. Ornith. Diet. 



Bewick, Brit. Birds, vol. i. p. 231. 

 Flem. Brit. An. p. 73. 

 Sb.LBY, Brit. Ornith. vol. i. p. 251. 

 Jenyns, Brit. Vert. p. 114. 

 Gould, Birds of Europe, pt. ii. under tlie 

 name of alba in the description, and Yar- 

 rellii in ttie General Index. 



MoTAciLLA. Generic Characters — Bill slender, subulate, straight, cari- 

 nated, angulated between the nostrils, emarginated at the tip ; the edges of 

 both mandibles slightly compressed inwards. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, and 

 partly concealed by a naked membrane. Wings of moderate size ; the first 

 quill-feather the longest, the second and third equal in length, and nearly as 

 long as the first ; the tertials very long. Tarsus much longer than the middle 

 toe ; the outer toe of the thiee in front joined to the middle toe at its base ; the 

 claw of the hind toe sometimes elongated. Tail of twelve feathers, long, and 

 nearly even at the end. 



